Sunny took a deep breath and held it for a count of five before slowly blowing it out again. She tried to relax, tried to rest, tried to be still as Geo was. The only problem was her brain refused to stop racing, and her body wanted sex, not sleep. Focusing on breathing slow and deep, she forced herself to lie still so Geo could enjoy this downtime even if all she was doing was growing more tense and frustrated.
“Tell me a story,” Geo murmured as the hand connected to his arm wrapped around her shoulders and began to slowly slide up and down.
He sounded half-asleep, or maybe that was just because he was fully relaxed, while her body pulsed with the crazy amounts of energy she had picked up over the last two days. This was one of the reasons she spent so much time alone. No matter how hard she tried to shield against other people’s energy, she could not protect herself. It didn’t matter whether they radiated joy and excitement, or fear, anger and hatred, she absorbed it all.
Sunny swallowed hard before asking, “What kind of story?” She figured he would want to hear about what she was currently working on.
He surprised her when he said, “Tell me the story of Sunflower, and what she wants the rest of her life to be like.”
Sunny stared across his chest as she thought about his request. What did she want the rest of her life to be like? She had come so far from the little girl whose father had told her she could not be a writer when she grew up, and that she needed practical skills to survive in the world.
When she did not immediately speak, he said, “Once upon a time there was a beautiful woman named Sunflower…” to get her started.
Sunny could not help but smile. He sounded like a child asking for a made-up story all for his very own. “Once upon a time there was a woman named Sunflower who was so shy she sometimes had a hard time leaving her house to go to the grocery store,” she began, changing the words to better fit the truth she knew about herself.
She felt Geo relax as she made up a future life full of all the things she had wished to be since being a young child. A life full of outrageous fun, daring adventures, and contentment with one man who loved her and only her. A life where her wide-open, unshielded, empathic nature did not make her a hermit for fear of having meltdowns in public, or embarrassing other people. A life where there was a man beside her, loving her, caring for her, letting her care for him.
As she continued talking, she revealed the deepest, most sacred secrets of her heart, her voice dropping to a whisper. Tears filled her eyes and slowly overflowed, burning their way across her cheek to be absorbed by Geo’s shirt as she described a future so much better than what she had lived to this point.
She knew the dreams she was speaking, about touring the world and writing a book in each state and the half dozen countries she wanted to visit, would never come true. She had a better chance of becoming a New York Times best-selling author with her next ten books than to actually make good on any of the things she had just shared.
She ended her story with the biggest, most heartfelt and secret wish of all. “And on Monday when she got home after falling in love with the wrong man, Sunflower learned that the tumor was benign, and she would not have to have a hysterectomy and someday she would have children. The end.”
As she finished, she did not notice Geo’s eyes were open, and he was staring at the ceiling with a slight frown creasing his brow.
Feeling drained after sharing all her secrets and dreams, Sunny closed her eyes, and drifted into the special place halfway between awake and asleep. That magical place where all her best story ideas were born.
Chapter Eight
Saturday evening, at the farewell dinner, Geo had a hard time keeping away from Sunny. All he wanted to do was sweep her up and carry her away, from his sister who watched them both like a hawk, from the conference, from the hotel. He wanted to take her to his ranch, to keep her safe from the world, and her own body. He knew she did not realize he had heard every word she had spoken. If she did, she would be mortified at sharing such a weakness.
Just after dinner was served, he cornered Gigi. “I quit. And won’t be around tomorrow for the farewell breakfast. And neither will Sunny.”
Gigi stared at him for a long moment. “What’s going on?”
“She needs some downtime without a crowd around before she goes home.”
Gigi half turned and stared across the empty ballroom with a dozen tables covered with beer bottles and wine glasses. “Be gentle with her. And she cannot miss her plane home tomorrow afternoon.”
Geo huffed a laugh. “I’ll treat her like she’s spun glass, sister,” he responded before turning on one heel. Looking around the room, he found his sweet Sunflower sitting alone at a table at the back of the room, looking tired and stressed. She still wore the denim skirt, boots, and a deep red front-button sweater she had worn all day.
Making a quick trip up to their rooms where he grabbed jackets for them both, his car keys, and the rest of the condoms, he then stopped at the valet stand before returning to the ballroom. She had not moved, so he circled around the edge of the room and laid a hand on her shoulder.